PrEP, Condoms and Wiener Embroiled in Election Battle

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Come Election Day, Californians will vote on Proposition 60, which would require porn actors to wear condoms when filming a movie anywhere in the state. With support from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) and its controversial president, Michael Weinstein, the initiative earned enough support last year to make it onto the ballot this November.

Many in the LGBT and HIV community oppose Prop 60 on the grounds that it will simply force the adult film industry further underground and out of the state where it is currently self-regulated.

As reported last year, a similar “condoms in porn” requirement became law in Los Angeles in 2013. About 480 adult films were shot in the city in 2012; that number dropped to about 40 the next year.

One opponent of Prop 60 is San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener, who is running for state senator. He is also openly gay and has publicly announced he is taking Truvada as PrEP, a pre-exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV.

According to a press release by Wiener, he is being attacked by a series of ads by AHF and Weinstein because of his opposition to Prop 60 and his support of PrEP.

“Michael Weinstein’s tactics are predictable given his long record of sex-shaming his own community,” said Wiener. “I’m proud to stand on the side of my community and smart public health policies like increasing access to PrEP and not driving the adult film industry underground, where workers will be less safe. In the state senate I will fight back against the regressive and harmful policies pushed by Weinstein and fight for progressive, safe healthcare policies that protect our community.”